


i'll stop the world and melt with you

by grootmorning



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domesticity, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Frank and Karen take a break from the city and focus on themselves, Frank needs a partner in crime, Karen needs some chill, Mild Smut, Mutual Pining, Romance, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-17 13:15:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13077648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grootmorning/pseuds/grootmorning
Summary: "Let me get this straight, you show up at my door after seven weeks of nothing, ask me to pack a weekend bag, go away with you to a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere and pretend to be your wife so you can spy on some gun runners without arousing suspicion?"





	i'll stop the world and melt with you

"Let me get this straight, you show up at my door after seven weeks of nothing, ask me to pack a weekend bag, go away with you to a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere and pretend to be your wife so you can spy on some gun runners without arousing suspicion?"

At least Frank had the decency to look slightly ashamed as he raised a hand to pull at the longish strands of his crew cut, "Yeah, I - "

"Okay." Frank blinked. Karen shrugged. 

It wasn't like she had anything planned anyway.

"It would be Christmas weekend. I - I'd understand if you - "

"No, I'll come," she shrugged again at his questioning glance, standing up to get them beers. "I've got nothing on. It would be nice to get away on a little trip out of the city."

And that was the story of how she ended up in a car with Frank Castle, driving miles away from the city with two duffle bags in the backseat and her hands wrapped around a hot go cup of coffee.

-

It was a nice cabin. Karen looked around the living room as Frank brought in their things and the groceries they'd bought on the way up. Ellison had banned her from the office due to the lack of usage of her off days from the rest of the year. So she technically wouldn't have to go in until the New Year really. 

Frank grunted under the weight of the things he was carrying, but he wouldn't let Karen take anything. With his hip, Frank bumped the door, closing the front door and stomping on the mat to rid his boots of the snow.

The cabin was rustic, homey. It was a perfect getaway from the city. With a great view of snow covered fields and trees to set the mood. 

There was just one problem.

"Frank," Karen called, standing stock still in the middle of the room. 

"Yeah."

Karen hadn't taken her eyes off the bed in the master bedroom, "Quick question. Why is there only one bed in the entire cabin?"

Frank appeared next to her and she jumped. Goosebumps appeared on her arms but she wasn't cold. Possible scenarios and explanations ran through her traitorous mind, supplied and fed by the weeks of loneliness and worry that she'd experienced after Frank had disappeared from the elevator in which they had shared a moment. Well, she thought that there was a moment. For all she knew, Frank had no such reciprocation of feelings.

"I er - ", Frank raised a hand to pull at his hair again. A nervous tic, Karen realised. "I did say 'pretend to be my wife'. It'd be weird if we were honeymooning and got er - two beds. Be suspicious, y'know."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, "I'll take the couch, or the floor. It'll be like being back at camp."

Karen rolled her eyes. He was such a gentleman, a small traitorous part of her brain whispered, she hated it. "Don't be ridiculous. The bed's big enough for the both of us and the Wall of China."

They got distracted as a loaf of bread threatened to slip from Frank's arms and Karen ran to save it, placing it on the kitchen counter. She tried to bring her errant thoughts back under control. Of course, Frank didn't mean for them to share a bed. It wasn't anything like that. She was on this ride because he needed a cover story. That was it. She shouldn't assume anything, even if the environment looked ridiculously romantic and they were in the woods with the nearest people a five minute stroll away.

She shook herself out of it, opening the refrigerator to put the milk and eggs in. It was absurd how quickly she jumped again when she turned to find him just behind her, holding the steak, chicken and other protein they'd bought for the few days. 

"I gotta - ," he waved them awkwardly, " - put these in too."

She stepped away, giving him some space and went to collect her bag of things, placing it in the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, it was a pretty comfortable king sized one with plump pillows and a nice duvet, Karen placed a hand on her chest, willing her heart to slow down.

It was Friday evening. She had three more days, alone, in a cabin, away from civilisation with Frank Castle. A man whom, if she'd had time in that damn elevator, she would have already kissed. A man, whom all intents and purposes, seemed intent on maintaining a boundary between them.

God give her strength.

 -  

Opening the door of the bathroom, Karen stretched and yawned at the same time. It was nice to be away from the city for a few days, to sleep peacefully without the noise of the city just on the other side of her bedroom window. She crossed the space between the bathroom and the bed in a few short hops, balancing on her toes to avoid the cold floor. 

She pulled her legs in to her chest, revelling in the soft feel of her sweatpants on her skin. 

"An 'I love NY' shirt? Really?" Karen looked up as Frank walked in.

"It's called being patriotic."

"You're from Vermont."

"I live in New York now, the notion still stands," Karen scoffed. "Thanks for making dinner by the way. I didn't realised that I'd fallen asleep there."

Frank waved her concerns off, "I'm the one who asked you here. Would have been making dinner for myself anyway, if you weren't here." 

Karen struggled to keep her face passive, ignoring the small bolt of pain that his words left in her. Changing the subject, Karen crossed her legs, balancing her chin on her hands, "So you cook now."

"I do," his face slipped into an almost wistful expression. "First dish I made was for Mi - David. When he was hungover."

He told her about eating rations and the bare necessities to survive. The simplest things that he would grab on the go. And how picking up the ingredients and making that soup for David was ridiculously satisfying to him at the time. 

He moved as he spoke, and Karen stared as Frank actually pulled off a pillow from the bed, making a nice and snug makeshift bed on the floor where the rug was. The fireplace was going merrily and Frank judged the distance between the fire and his position before adjusting slightly. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, ma'am," Frank smoothed out the extra blanket that he'd snagged from the wardrobe. "I assure you I'm not."

"You're going to catch a cold."

"By the fireplace?" Frank raised an eyebrow and Karen felt her her lower belly lurch a little bit at the sight. Not a good time for the libido. "Hardly."

"And there isn't anything I can say to get you to get on the bed? I'll even allow you to sleep on top of the covers. I'll keep my hands to myself."

The smirk on Frank's face was doing a number on her insides and Karen fought to keep a straight face. "Trying to get me into bed?"

"Trying to keep a dummy from getting pneumonia," she muttered, sliding under the covers. "Suit yourself." She tugged the blankets up under her chin, turning on her side so she could see Frank from her vantage point. 

"Thank you."

"You're mocking me."

"Am not," Frank checked to make sure his gun was in reach under the chair, before rolling onto his back and placing his hands behind his head. "Nice to have concern thrown your way, it is."

A lump, a small one, mind you, formed in Karen's throat at his matter of fact statement and she rolled onto her back as well, unable to look at him, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Karen."

-

Strolling arm in arm with Frank Castle through a picturesque woods, eyes peeled for any illicit activity, was not what Karen had in mind for her Christmas Eve this year. But she wasn't going to complain. Her boots crunched through the leaves and the light snow. The quiet tranquility was like a balm to her soul, slowly melting away the trauma of the past year. She closed her eyes and walked, trusting Frank to point out anything she might trip over, and tried to exhale all the other worries plaguing her mind.

Murmuring closer to her ear to avoid any surveillance device that might possibly be planted, Frank told her about how he'd scouted the gun runner's residence yesterday, for a brief stint after dinner.

"So that's where you disappeared to."

Frank had a wry smile on his face, "I'm sure you didn't miss me."

Karen shrugged, "Yeah, I didn't notice that you were gone for twenty two minutes after dinner before I decided to go take a shower."

He coughed and changed the subject, a common tactic between them, Karen realised. "So what have you been up to, since the whole incident with Lewis and that senator?"

It was nothing Pullitzer worthy, but Frank listened with rapt attention as Karen talked about her days at the Bulletin, about keeping in contact with Foggy and Trish Walker, a friend she'd gained from the Midland Circle debacle, and about inane topics like her breaking a heel one day on the sidewalk. The amazing thing was that he listened without interruption. It had been ages since she'd had a conversation without someone breaking her train of thought. 

She paused during a mini tirade about an annoying co-worker, "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No," he patted her arm around his indulgently. "I like listening to you talk."

"But why?"

"It's nice," Frank left it at that. They continued strolling down the path, meandering through the light snow covered ground. They had lapsed into a comfortable silence. Karen lightly hummed under her breath, and Frank pointed out a few of the forest animals they came across. But under than that, they were silent.

Karen was just glad that he was there.

Her hand tightened instinctively, grabbing at what was real and warm under her fingertips. Frank's body stiffened, immediately looking around for what had spooked her. His arm was around her waist, clutching her to him and ready to defend her but she shushed him, apologizing. 

"I just - ," Karen tripped over her words, turning them around to continue walking so she wouldn't have to look at his face while she got them out. "I'm happy, that you're here, that we're here."

She was staring resolutely ahead. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lines around his eyes soften and crinkle up again as he smiled. A small one, but a smile nonetheless.

"Hey," he patted her arm again. "I'm happy you're safe, and that we're here."

Karen didn't really know how to respond to that with the emotions rolling through her chest, so she squeezed his arm again, and they continued walking.

It was about five minutes more before Frank slowed, pulling them behind a tree to point at a large two storey cabin up ahead. The chimney was smoking merrily and there was movement downstairs.

"That's the one. Checking it out yesterday, didn't seem like there were many people around. Seems like they're home now."

"What are you going to do?"

Frank shrugged, "Don't know, can't exactly walk up and ring the doorbell, eh?"

That was exactly what Karen was planning to do. She tugged him out, ignoring that he was trying to dig his feet in to stop her. If he'd really want to keep her from walking up to their door, they both knew full well he could. But he didn't, or couldn't bring himself to yank her back too harshly.

"Karen - "

"We're pretending to be a couple," she whispered. "It's easy."

"It's dangerous."

She lifted her jacket away from her side, showing him her small gun tucked into the inner pocket, lifting an eyebrow at him. "I know you're armed too." She tapped his back, over his leather jacket, where he usually kept a gun or a knife hidden away.

Frank sighed, "Yeah, I am."

They were almost at the door. Karen pressed the doorbell, tapping her foot. Frank shifted uncomfortably next to her. He'd just told her that he was happy she was safe, and Karen had marched straight into another situation. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was doing this on purpose.

In all fairness, she'd probably agree.

The door opened, and a man and a woman peeked out cautiously.

"Hello," Karen said cheerfully. "We're holidaying just up the street, and we wanted to come by and say 'Merry Christmas' to you guys since we saw that there were people here."

"It's not Christmas until tomorrow, dear, but thank you," the woman shook Karen's hand warmly, pulling the door open further.

Frank's eyes scanned the room, noting that it was void of anyone else's presence. The table had been set for two. And there were sheets pulled over some of the furniture.

"You guys live here all on your own?"

"No, dear, we're the caretakers of this place. The uh, owners, have gone up to the city for the holidays. So we get a big cabin until New Year's. Would you like to come in for a hot cocoa?"

"Darling, shall we?" Karen winced internally as she let the endearment slip from her lips but Frank played his part perfectly.

He made conversation with the two as they'd entered, taking a seat in the kitchen.

The rest of the visit was uneventful. But the hot cocoa was divine. Frank and Karen were shown the door, with the recipe pressed into their hands and warm wishes in their hearts. Karen almost felt bad for lying to them.

The gun burned heavily at her side.

"Do you think they - "

"No, I don't think they know. They seem like good people," Frank also shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his own gun, surprised at the small kernel of guilt that he had from bringing weapons into their home. "I think they're telling the truth, that they just house sit for the gun runners whenever they're away, to avoid having the house empty or unsecured."

"I'm sorry the lead didn't pan out."

Frank waved her concern away and pointed out a small shy fox in the same motion. Karen cooed gently, pouting when the fox turned tail and ran from them.

"What are we going to do now?" Karen could see their own cabin in the distance. A small part of her wanted to stay. Stay in the small bubble that they'd created away from Hell's Kitchen and away from the bustle of New York. And wondered if they would just wrap it up and go home. Where she would be alone, for Christmas.

Frank rubbed at the back of his neck, "I've paid for the place until Boxing Day. Do you uh, wanna stay with me? S - stay in the cabin, with me, that's what I meant." He dipped his head, unable to look her in the eye in a mirroring of her action from before.

Karen thought of the two of them in the small cabin, cooking, eating, talking, sharing a room if not a bed; how domestic. She assumed that as Frank hadn't said anything or made a move, that he wasn't interested in her like she was with him. It was two more days before they would pack everything up and go back into the city. Two days of just her and Frank. 

She always was a sucker for self-inflicted torture.

"Sure."

-

"Karen, where's my bed?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Karen tucked herself neatly under the covers, pasting a neutral expression on her face. 

She didn't know what possessed her to do it. But the pillow, blankets and other coverings that Frank had carefully laid out the night before had been picked up and unceremoniously thrown into the storage space next to the car. She'd tried to lock it too but there wasn't any lock attached to it.

She could blame it on the beer that they had over the steak that Frank had made, or the excitement of the day. She could tell him that it was out of concern for his health. The health of a man who'd been beaten to shit and come back, who'd been through countless explosions and gunshots, knife wounds and mental trauma. 

She knew why she really did it.

"Don't be a baby and just take the other side," Karen sighed at Frank, standing uncertainly at the end of the bed. "You can sleep on top of the covers if it makes you feel better."

She felt the bed dip after a few minutes.

"Bet I could find where you tossed my bed," Frank muttered, adjusting his position on the pillow.

"I bet you could," Karen put her phone onto the bedside table and turned to look up at the ceiling, ignoring the warmth radiating from him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Frank didn't go looking for his things the next day. 

They also didn't speak about how in the morning, they'd found that they had unconsciously turned towards each other in sleep, facing each other as they woke to the sunlight streaming in from the windows.

Add it to the list of things that they'd left unsaid.

-

They'd opened a bottle of wine over dinner.

"I stole this from an office engagement, so I think it's good wine," Karen watched as he popped the cork, pouring expertly into the two wineglasses they'd pulled out. 

Frank offered her the first glass, and she sipped at it, giving him the thumbs up.

It was Karen's turn to make dinner, she had insisted to do it since it was Christmas night. They'd spent the day lazing about reading books and cleaning weaponry. No prizes for guessing who did what. After awhile, Karen took to reading out loud when she saw the way Frank looked at the various titles that she'd brought. They had lapsed into a weird, cozy afternoon that neither were willing to talk about. Also she felt like she needed to do something to burn off the nervous energy thrumming under her skin.

The way that Frank was looking at the grilled chicken and vegetables she'd made though, you'd think it was a Michelin star meal. A Michelin star meal that they'd decided to have in their pajamas because it was much more comfortable that way and nobody was around to judge them for it.

She shifted in her seat, "It's not much and it probably doesn't taste - "

"No," he picked up his cutlery, looking her in the eye. "It looks good. Merry Christmas Karen."

"Merry Christmas, Frank," she swallowed her chicken, ignoring the fact that there was still something in her throat. Probably allergies, she told herself.

They ate in companionable silence, punctuated with the occasional clinking of the wine glasses. Somehow, through the wine induced haze, the dirty dishes had ended up in the sink and they had both landed on the couch, in front of the roaring fire, with half a bottle of wine to go.

"Frank, what happened at the carousel?" Karen broached the topic slowly, with all the caution of approaching a threatened predator. They still hadn't spoken about what had happened after the hotel. What she knew about his  _situation_ was gathered through research and inference from the brief and almost useless police reports on the incident. For all she knew, he could shut down completely. 

"I had a friend," Frank began, the look in his eyes getting distant. Karen wasn't sure if he was here anymore. "He betrayed me from the very beginning, even when we were fighting overseas. I thought he was my family. He wasn't."

What did you say to that? Karen turned to face him on the couch, putting a hand on his knee, "I'm sorry."

He nodded. "I found out at the hotel that we were at where he gave me this." Frank waved at the scar groove at the side of his head. "I gave him a whole lot of other things that night at the carousel." The smile was grim and Karen shivered a little at the sight.

"He lured me there with innocents and my friend, Curtis, and I showed up. We thrashed it out." Frank talked simply, almost like he was discussing the weather. It was so matter of fact that Karen almost missed the thread of grief that tainted his words. He continued on about going to group, and finding a community of other veterans who were going through the same things as he was. Well, not all of the same.

"Curtis says I'm getting better. I've stopped smashing things every time I think of Billy, I - "

"Billy," Karen interrupted him unthinkingly. Frank looked up in mild alarm at her tone. "Billy Russo?"

"Yeah?"

"He - ," Karen swallowed. "He was there, at the hotel. Doing security for the prick I was interviewing. He introduced himself to me. I think he - he hit on me." She pressed a hand to her stomach, the memory making her physically ill. That she'd even considered him good looking and a harmless person, the man who'd dealt Frank the ultimate betrayal.

The look on Frank's face was pure fury. "That son of a bitch."

The primal anger that suffused his words alarmed her. Some instinct told her to run away but she stretched out instead, trying to put a hand on him to calm him down. "Frank, I - "

"He's touched every other part of my life, not this," Frank's heavy boots hit the ground and he stood up to pace furiously around the room. "He can't have this. I didn't realise you - he - ," Frank dissolved into incoherent growling as he wrung his hands.

"Frank, it's fine. I didn't even think much about it until now."

"No," Frank punctuated the word with a punch to the pillar separating the kitchen and the sitting room. "No, Karen. It's not okay." The speed of his pacing increased with his agitation.

Karen leapt up from the couch and grabbed his face, cradling it in two hands. She marvelled as he came to a complete stop to avoid bowling her over, even in his state, he wouldn't hurt her. His whole stance softened as he looked at her, hands coming up to cover hers. She moved to trace the groove on the right side of his head, fingers lightly pressing over the scar.

"He did this?" She whispered.

Frank nodded, and she closed her eyes. The pain he must have felt, both from the bullet and from a friend's betrayal. And yet he still came for her down in that basement to save her. 

Something came over her, maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the result of a few days of proximity to him, maybe it was just instinct, but Karen surged forward to press a soft kiss to his lips, willing him to feel something other than sadness at this point. Anything. But just as soon as she did it, she reeled backwards, horrified by the part of herself that she'd just revealed to him.

Frank's eyes were wide open in shock.

Karen fled to the bedroom, kicking the door shut and sitting heavily on the bed. Her hand pressed again to her chest, in an action similar to when she'd first found out that there was only one bed in the cabin.  _Stupid, idiot, mindless_ , she swore at herself. Frank didn't need her and her uncontrollable emotions right when he was trying to heal from the greatest trauma anybody could ever experience in life. She refused to be that female, pleading for a man to look past his old demons and see her. She would not let herself be that.

The easiest way would be to pretend that it was a mistake. Blame it on the wine, maybe. They did have a lot of it. 

It would kill her inside to deny this part of her, but she had to. For this, for their friendship, for whatever they had between them now. Karen needed it.

The door opened. Her head snapped up.

Frank gestured randomly with his hands, as if he wasn't sure what to do with them, "Door wasn't closed."

Karen closed her eyes. She couldn't even kick a door shut right. Sucking in a deep breath, Karen stood. "Listen - "

"Karen, I - "

They both stalled mid-conversation, inciting a bout of nervous laughter. Frank took a step closer, arms coming up as if he was surrendering. "May I?"

Karen shrugged. 

"Karen, in the elevator, I - ," Frank swallowed. "I thought that I might never see you again after that. Everything was going to shit. Rawlins was kicking our ass left and right. Billy had stabbed me in the back. We'd just gone through an explosion. My mind was all kinds of fucked up."

The words hurt more than Karen'd expected. She had suspected that Frank hadn't returned her feelings, but hearing the confirmation from him had her reeling and fighting to keep upright. "Frank, I never asked for - "

Frank made a useless hand gesture in mid-air, silencing Karen and continuing in a huff. "Look at you, a tall leggy blonde with big blue eyes that shine with every emotion in the spectrum. God put you on Earth to torment me."

Karen couldn't do anything but stare at Frank in confusion. 

Frank sighed, stepping one more step closer until he was right in front of her. "What I'm saying is that it killed me inside even thinking that I would never get back to you. You yanked me out of the hellscape that was my life and gave me hope, y'hear me?" He brushed a lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Karen's skin burned where he touched her. "I didn't dare to say anything. How could I? Don't deserve a thing after all the shit I've done to this world."

Karen was already shaking her head before she even realised it, "Don't say that. You're a good person. Frank Castle is a good person."

"Yeah? You're probably one out of five people who think so." 

Her fingers brushed lightly across the wry smile he had on. "Frank, I would never dare to ask for anything more than what you are willing to give me. I would never - "

"I know." His palm pressed hers against his cheek, and he turned to nuzzle gently into it. Karen's breath caught in her throat. This was nothing like what she'd expected. "Curtis has been telling me to be good to myself. I think this is one thing that we can maybe agree on me being selfish for."

He closed the gap between them and pressed closer to her. His free hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her gently towards him. Leaning down, Frank kissed her softly, almost as if he was afraid that he would break her.

Karen only noticed she had tears on her cheeks when he released her hand to brush them away. Her hands clutched at his shirt disbelievingly, unable to let go for fear that he would slip away. That she had Frank Castle with her, in front of her, kissing her, was beyond anything that she'd imagined for the trip. She had dared to hope for a fraction of a second, but had never believed that it would ever happen. 

She lifted herself to her toes, kissing him back. Words were her bread and butter as a journalist, but she knew they would fail her now and she poured herself into the kiss, a sob leaving her as she felt Frank smile against her lips. 

On the third night at the cabin, without any protest, Frank slipped under the covers with her. Drawing her to him, Frank let his forehead rest against hers, pressing gentle kisses to her face wherever he could reach. 

"You're my hope. You're my after," he murmured over and over to her. Karen burrowed closer into his side, fully believing that she would wake up the next day and find that this was all a dream. But for now, she would let herself live in the moment and the fact that Frank Castle loved her back.

-

The warmth of the sun woke Karen for the third time that weekend. But for the first time that weekend, Karen had a warm arm around her waist, clasping her securely to him. 

A hiccup interrupted her breath as she slowly came to the conclusion that the night before had actually happened, and that it wasn't a dream. She felt Frank stirring behind her. Fingers brushed her hair from her neck before lips replaced them and Frank kissed her neck and shoulders tenderly.

"Hey."

She turned in his arms, accepting his kiss happily. Her toes curled as the warmth from him spread through her entire body. Karen pressed up against him, giving him a kiss of her own. "Hey."

They kissed lazily for awhile, legs tangling and hands wandering curiously. Karen giggled as Frank nosed his way down to where her jaw met her neck, biting gently at the soft skin. He rolled her gently onto her back, bracketing her head with his arms. The warm look on his face was accentuated by his small smile and Karen covered her face with her hands, unable to look straight at him. The emotions rose in her chest and threatened to choke her. This was really happening.

Frank pulled her hands away slowly. The look on his face morphed into something slightly more intense the longer he looked at her. 

Karen's breath hitched as he leaned down to kiss her again. This time, the kiss was deeper, hungrier. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't been thinking of this. But now having the real thing, it was so much better than her dreams.

Her fingers twisted in the soft material of his shirt, pulling him down to her as she opened her mouth to him, welcoming him. Frank licked his way in, and she felt the rumble of his groan spread from his body to hers. 

They'd lost the blanket somewhere in the make out session, but they didn't care. Frank had lost his shirt too, pulled off of him by Karen's impatient hands. She traced the myriad of scars that were scattered across his torso, pressing lightly where there was once violence and harshness. Frank shuddered at her touch. He loved her for that. The endless pool of concern that was Karen Page. He would never stop being grateful for that.

With a bit of fumbling and a bit of laughter, Karen kicked her sweatpants off. Frank eagerly rolled off her to kick his off as well. The room grew hotter as Frank tugged at the hem of Karen's shirt, asking for permission.

She raised her arms to let him pull it off.

Frank kissed her bare breasts tenderly, and he cupped them in his large hands, kneading gently. Karen's body bowed off the bed at his touch. She gasped as he leaned over to flick a nipple with his tongue. Her hands came up to hold him closer, eyes rolling to the back of her head when Frank tugged at one with his teeth.  _Yes_ , she breathed out.

It all went a little faster from there on.

All remaining articles of clothing was lost. Frank trembled as he beheld her below him, blonde hair fanning out across the pillow. He lifted a reverent hand to brush at it, to trail gently across her face and down her body. It was more than he deserved.

Her nails dug into his arms as he slid into her, both of them gasping gently at the contact. Frank thrusted into her slowly, watching her reactions in awe as Karen panted his name. Her hips rose to meet his, thrust for lazy thrust. This was making love. Frank intended to shower on Karen every aspect of pleasure that she could possibly feel. 

Sucking a gentle love bite into the side of her breast, Frank grinned as her nails raked down his back at a particularly angled thrust. 

"Frank, I - "

"It's okay," he mouthed at her jaw, trailing wet kisses over her cheek and back to her mouth, drinking her in. "Let go, Karen."

Her hands came up to frame his face. Perspiration beaded across her forehead and it was pleasure that glazed across her eyes. Her skin was thrumming again, not with nervous energy this time, but with so much love and need that Karen felt that she was going to explode from the inside. The way that Frank was looking at her, like she was the most perfect being in the universe. How could she have ever gone without it for so long?

Throwing her head back, she let Frank run a hand down her body, down to where they were joined. He flicked deft fingers across her clit, earning himself a low moan. The sound was music to his ears and he did it again. And again. Nothing mattered right now except for Karen.

And when she shuddered and came apart in his arms, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He bit into her shoulder, thrusting a few more times into her before he spent himself in her too. 

Karen pulled at him again, and he let himself fall onto his arms, pillowing his head on her breasts. She stroke at his hair gently, catching her breath. It was her turn to murmur an endless stream of endearments to him.

Frank reached up to press another kiss to her chin, smiling as she laughed.

They lay there until it was almost lunch.

-

Before they knew it, they were packing up to drive back into the city. 

Karen bit at her lip as she surveyed the exterior of the house, committing it to memory. Frank came up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist, pleased when she leaned back into him.

"Guess you didn't have to lie to the owner after all," she quipped. Her toes curled as he laughed, low and happy. 

Frank pressed a brief kiss to her temple before releasing her to place the rest of their things in the back of the car. Karen stuck her hands in her pockets, stamping her feet a little to keep warm. 

The car was slammed shut.

With a slightly mischievous expression, Frank turned to her, "You know that I know my pillow and blankets are in that storage space just there, right?"

"I know," Karen smiled. "But you didn't go looking for them."

"What can I say? I was weak," Frank shrugged, wrapping an arm around her as she sidled up to him. "A tall leggy blonde enticed me into bed."

"You slept on the covers."

"I was worried for your modesty."

Karen coughed embarrassedly at her initial forwardness. Images of their morning tryst and subsequent sessions rose in her mind and Karen could literally feel the flush spreading up her neck. It wasn't what she had in mind for the weekend, but she definitely was not going to complain. "You should be worried for yours."

"I will do no such thing," Frank let go of her to get into the car, waiting patiently for her to stop laughing before she got in as well. "I really thought this was going to be a working weekend. Tall leggy blondes are bad for work."

Karen let him take her hand, pulling her across the seat for another kiss before he got the car engine started, "I'm going to be totally honest and say that I had hoped something would happen this weekend. Did you?"

Frank pressed another kiss to her knuckles before letting her go, "Can't say I didn't have any wishes for the weekend, but I never let those thoughts get too far." He looked at her tenderly, bringing another flush to her cheeks. "Guess my wish came true. Even though I didn't catch any criminals this weekend."

"Well, you caught me."

"I guess I did," Frank smiled at her, and she motioned for him to drive with another indulgent smile. "Can't say I'm going to be letting go any time soon."

Karen could say the same for herself.

**Author's Note:**

> i started out wanting to write a kastle christmas fic and ended up with this monster. i hope you like it :) tell me if you do?
> 
> tumblr: [here](http://ltfrankcastle.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [here](http://twitter.com/ltfrankcastie)


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